tforms. If they had a week! But you say General von Emmich is
already on the march? That means that war has been declared?"

"No, only that it has begun," said Poertner, with a smile. "It is no
longer the fashion to declare war formally---unless the enemy is like
Russia with us--so far away that we can't strike first. No. The
modern way is to begin fighting and let the other side declare war. So
they seem to take the aggressive."

"I see," said Froebel. "Well, at any rate, it is the time I am
thinking of. They are fairly well prepared here at Liege. The forts
are in order; they have good men, and plenty of ammunition for their
guns. But against our Krupp pieces--"

He laughed to express the chance that the stout forts of Liege were to
have against the German artillery. And outside Arthur, listening,
ground his teeth. He was glad that he had come; already he had learned
facts likely to prove of the first importance. No matter how well the
garrison of Liege was prepared for any emergency, it would be vastly
helpful to know when the blow might be expected to fall. It is one
thing to be prepared for a trouble that may come some day; it is quite
another to know that it is imminent, and to make plans accordingly.

In Arthur's mind an idea now began to take root. The voices of the two
Germans inside died away, and he seized the opportunity to make his way
quietly to the front of the cottage. There, lying on its side, was the
motorcycle of which the new arrival had spoken. Arthur had ridden
motorcycles himself, and now he went up to this one and examined it
carefully. He found that while it was different from the ones he had
ridden, the points of difference were really trifling and that he could
understand it easily enough.

Then he went back for another peep in the window. The two German
officers were busily engaged now in eating, and were washing down the
sausage, amid a good deal of laughter at the rough fare, with two
bottles of wine.

"When we have finished," said Poertner, "we will have a look at your
little arsenal below."

"It's a real arsenal," said Froebel, proudly. "That was rather well
managed, I think. We have managed to bring in the guns, one part at a
time and the ammunition piecemeal, in the same way. These stupid
Belgians never even suspected. It is only just lately that they have
even begun to dream that there might be danger for them if it came to
war. Before they woke up ever